


Changes

by cupcakesintheimpala



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Family Drama, M/M, Skywalker Family Drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-11-30 12:30:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11463645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cupcakesintheimpala/pseuds/cupcakesintheimpala
Summary: AU. Fourteen years ago they were forced to accept the fact that their children were most likely dead. They'd tried to move on. But when a young woman suddenly turns up on Ach-To with the Millennium Falcon and his husband's old lightsaber, Ezra knows everything is about to change.





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [flarechaser](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flarechaser/gifts).



> This is for @flarechaser who asked me about Skybridger being Rey's parents...and by doing so she unleashed the floodgates of hell. (in a good way!) This fic is based off of a discussion between the two of us over what would happen if Rey was the daughter of Ezra Bridger from Rebels and Luke Skywalker.  
>   
> I apologize if there's any OOCness, I'm still getting used to writing these characters. :)

Part 1:  
  
Ezra groaned and activated the hovercarts he'd brought with him before pushing them out of the old shuttle he'd used to make the trip. Unmarked ships were essential to keeping his and his husband's location a secret from the galaxy.  
  
He was going to have to get Luke to grab the other carts; he'd made a killing at the black market on Takodana (Maz may be a trusted contact in the Resistance, but he couldn't risk going to her himself. It would bring too much attention.) and the supplies would last them at least a couple of months. There could have been a lot more, but when the First Order showed up, he got out as fast as he could.  
  
Ezra left the first crate near their hut and went to find Luke. He had a hunch where the other Jedi had gone.  
  
Predictably, he found his husband on the cliff where they'd set up the empty grave for their children...but Luke wasn't alone. A young woman stood opposite of Luke, several feet away. She held something out in her hand.  
  
Ezra felt his breath catch in his throat as he realized what it was: a lightsaber.  
  
A few moments passed before Luke made his way down to her. She said something to him that Ezra could not hear. Luke reluctantly took the lightsaber from the woman and said something back. As they turned toward him, Ezra noted Luke's somber look.  
  
Something was wrong...or...clouded. Ezra looked to the woman as they started walking toward him. As she got closer, he started noting her features: dark brown hair pulled back in three distinctive buns, bright blue eyes, tall and slender build. She reminded him of someone...Something so familiar about her...  
  
He could almost hear Kanan's voice in his head: _"The Force is trying to tell you something.”_  
  
Ezra nearly choked as the answer suddenly came to him: _Leia._ She looked just like his sister-in-law!  
  
But --  
  
No, there was no possible way.  
  
Sabine had told them that Hera had found what was left of the wreckage of the old shuttle Ephraim had flown off on with his little sister. No bodies. Nothing.  
  
How --?  
  
"Ezra, you're back." Luke's voice jolted him from his thoughts.  
  
"Huh? Oh...yeah." Ezra shifted his weight awkwardly. "Takodana. Supply run.” He shrugged. “It took me longer ‘cause the First Order popped up. Had to lay low for a day or two just to be sure they wouldn’t tail me.” He looked at the girl. “Who is this?”  
  
She looked to Luke, who chuckled. “It’s alright. This is my husband, Ezra.”  
  
The girl relaxed a little and smiled at him. “Oh.” She smiled. “I’m Rey. General Organa sent me.”  
  
Ezra nodded. Of course Leia would send Rey out, but not without discussing it with the others. He had a strong suspicion Hera had backed Leia on this, if he was indeed correct in his assumption that Hera had figured out who Rey actually was (and he knew she had). “Nice to meet you.”  
  
“You too.” He glanced at Luke. “You want to help me get the rest of the supplies?”  
  
“How many crates did you score?” Luke asked.  
  
“I had ten before the Order showed up.” Ezra replied. “Had to drop three as I was heading out.”  
  
“Seven?” Luke’s eyes widened. “Have I told you you’re amazing lately?”  
  
Ezra smirked. “Last night.”  
  
“Ezra!” Luke went red in the face. “There’s a lady present!”  
  
Rey rolled her eyes. “I’ve heard worse.” she said casually. “Most scavengers on Jakku don’t have a filter. I’ve heard all kinds of talk, much worse than that.” She explained, noting Ezra’s stunned expression. “So…need help with the supplies?”  
  
Luke nodded. “Sure. Come on.”  
  
\---  
  
After unloading the supplies into Luke and Ezra’s hut, they sat down to eat and talk.  
  
“My sister sent you,” Luke began, “because she wants me to come back to the Resistance. Correct?”  
  
“Yes,” Rey replied. “The Resistance needs you…especially after Han –“ her voice cracked. She sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Luke wanted to hold her so badly at that moment, but decided against it. He didn't want to frighten her. “Kylo Ren killed him. He hurt my friend, Finn – and –“  
  
“So you want revenge?” Ezra asked.  
  
“I – no!” Rey looked insulted that he should even ask such a question. “I just…I want this to end. I didn’t want _this_.” She jabbed a finger at the lightsaber, which Luke had set down in the center of the table. “I didn’t want any of it, but here I am.” Silence. Rey yawned and stood up. “It’s late. I should go back to the _Falcon_. I need to let General Organa know I made contact –“  
  
“I’ll call my sister in the morning.” Luke interrupted gently. “Go get some sleep and we’ll see you tomorrow. There’s still a lot to talk about.”  
  
Rey stared at him for a long moment. She seemed puzzled by Luke’s request. Ezra knew it was because she’d probably not had any familial sort of concern shown to her in a long time. He had been that way when he’d first joined the Ghost crew.  
  
Rey nodded.  
  
“Okay. I’ll be back tomorrow.”  
  
She grabbed both her bag and her staff and headed back out of the hut.  
  
\---  
  
"So..."  
  
"Yeah." Luke sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "What do we do?"  
  
"Honestly? I have no idea." Ezra groaned. "We can't exactly just tell her." He sipped from the mug of caff he held in his hands. "Not yet anyway."  
  
"I agree." Luke nodded. A brief silence passed between the two men. "How did she survive the crash? Hera said there was nothing left...and I felt them pass. I know I did." he did not like to think of that terrifying moment when his connection to both his children through the Force had been so violently ripped apart.  
  
Ezra shrugged. "Hell if I know. We can figure that out later....I'm just glad that she's back."  
  
"Me too." Luke replied, leaning his head against Ezra's shoulder. He glanced at the lightsaber lying on the table in front of them. "What are we going to do about that?"  
  
"Not my choice." Ezra replied, tilting his head to rest against the top of Luke's. "She brought it for _you_ ," he grinned, "but I'm with you either way."  



	2. Part 2

Part 2:  
  
_“Eph no!”_  
  
_“I’m sorry, Sunshine. Stay here. I’ll be back in a couple of days, I promise!”_  
  
_“Eph! No! Come back!”_  
  
_“Quiet, girl!”_  
  
_The alien maintained a firm grip on her arm, restraining her as the ship took off._  
  
_The ship had barely reached Jakku’s atmosphere before it was shot back down, crashing into the sand._  
  
“No!” Rey jolted out of sleep, her breathing ragged. She hadn’t had the nightmares since the night before Finn had shown up at Niima Outpost on Jakku…and even before that, there had been very few of them.  
  
Somewhere to her left, Chewbacca growled inquisitively.  
  
“’M fine, Chewie.” She tossed back her blanket and got slowly to her feet. She rubbed her face and reached for the bands she used to tie her hair back. Once she had gotten herself in order, she grabbed her staff and left the Falcon.  
  
The weather was cool, and a light rain was falling. Rey inhaled deeply, eyes shut as she stretched out a hand, cupping it to catch the cold drops of water as they splashed into her hand.  
  
“Morning.” A voice called.  
  
Rey flinched. She turned to see Ezra sitting cross-legged several feet away. He was soaked, clearly having been there long before she’d walked out.  
  
“Sorry.” He apologized. “I come down here to meditate a lot. Falcon’s in my usual spot, but it’s no big deal. This works too.”  
  
“Where’s Luke?” she asked as she made her way back up the stone steps that led to the village at the top of the island.  
  
“Still talking to Leia.” He studied her for a moment. “Everything alright?”  
  
_"Eph no!"_  
  
“Fine.” Rey lied, hands twisting uncomfortably around her staff. The nightmare shouldn’t have made her so jumpy, but she couldn’t help it; it was the first she’d ever seen the ship explode. It had felt so real…  
  
“Hmm.” Ezra chose not to pry, and instead stood up. “Well, let’s get inside and eat.”  
  
Rey stared at the ground. “I’m not hungry.”  
  
“Okay.” Ezra nodded. “but that doesn’t mean you have to stay out here and get sick in the rain. Come back to the hut with me, and we’ll check in on Luke.”  
  
She hesitated and looked back to the Falcon.  
  
“I think I’ll just stay here.” She said quietly. “For now.”  
  
“Alright.”  
  
Ezra turned and headed back up to the top of the hill.  
  
\---  
  
“I don’t know what you think I can possibly do to help.” Luke sighed heavily. “I promised you I wouldn’t kill him. I kept my word. I convinced Ezra not to run him through after Sabine and Kanan told us what happened. His fall was my fault. I left.”  
  
“It wasn’t your fault.” Leia told him gently. “Snoke manipulated Ben. He turned him on his family, away from the light.” Her holographic image flickered for a moment, most likely a glitch in the transmission. “There’s still good in him.”  
  
“Where have I heard that before?”  
  
Leia rolled her eyes. “He’s no different from our own father, Luke. We can save him. His family can save him.”  
  
“He’s already murdered two members of this family.” Luke grimaced. “Who’s to say he won’t kill us all? You know I’m at the top of his list.”  
  
“I’m not saying you have to come back.” Leia said, “I’m just asking you to think about it. Talk to Rey.”  
  
Luke’s mood shifted. He’d wanted to mention Rey from the moment Leia had picked up his transmission but there had been more important things worth discussing first.  
  
“Yes, about her…”  
  
“You want to know why I sent her to bring you back.” It wasn’t a question. “You felt it, didn’t you? When she arrived?”  
  
“Yes.” He remembered the familiar presence he’d sensed as she approached him. “I did, and so did Ezra. I assume you did as well.”  
  
“Yes…well, Han told me first. He figured it out after her and Finn leaving Jakku.”  
  
“Of course he did.” Luke smiled sadly. “I’m sorry for what happened to him.” He sighed and sat down.  
  
“You didn’t kill him.” Leia turned her head and said something he couldn’t hear to someone he could not see, and then turned back to him. “Talk to Ezra, and talk to Rey.”  
  
Luke nodded. “May the Force be with you.”  
  
Leia smiled. “You too.”  
  
Just then, the door opened and a very soaked Ezra stepped inside out of the rain. Leia’s holographic image disappeared, signaling the end of the transmission.  
  
“Food.” Ezra moaned, stepping toward the small kitchen and Luke followed him. “Need. Now.”  
  
“Knock yourself out.” Luke chuckled. “Where’s Rey?”  
  
“Outside.” Ezra grabbed a mug and filled it with caf. “Seemed a little jumpy to me.” He set his mug on the table and then went to the refrigerator, opening the freezer side and pulling out a box of space waffles.  
  
“Jumpy.” Luke frowned.  
  
“Yeah. I didn’t want to push her so I came back alone.” He was silent for a moment or two. “I was thinking --”  
  
“That’s never good.” Luke teased, and Ezra scowled. Once he’d finished cooking his waffles he sat down next to his husband. “Okay spill.”  
  
Ezra took a bite of waffle. Not as good as Old Jho’s, but it was still tasty. “I think we should offer to train her.”  
  
“Train her.” Luke repeated. “To be a Jedi.”  
  
“No, a Wookie. Of course a Jedi.” Ezra said. Luke looked like he wanted to argue, and Ezra quickly cut him off. “She’s already tapped into her power, if what we heard about the lightsaber, and the storm trooper on Starkiller was true,” he laid his hand over Luke’s mechanical one, “and it’s better that we do this, before Snoke or Kylo can turn her to the Dark Side.” Luke didn’t speak. “What is it?”  
  
“What about telling her who we really are?” Luke asked. “I’m not going to just drop it on her like my father did to me, Ez. I don’t want her to go through that. And there’s also what happened to Kylo --”  
  
“I understand where you’re coming from,” Ezra said, “but Rey is not Ben. We already agreed not to just drop this on her…but I realize now that no matter how we tell her, we are doing just that… ” Ezra reminded him, “and Force knows I don’t want to push her, but she’s going to find out sooner or later, and better it comes from us than from someone else.”  
  
“I agree.” Luke sighed and heaved himself upright. “Well, let’s go.”  
  
“Um…”  
  
“You can finish your waffles later. Should’ve eaten before you meditated.”  
  
Ezra scowled. “And I thought I married a Jedi, not an imitation of Hera.”  
  
“You love me.”  
  
“Not right now.”  
  
“You do.”  
  
“You’re horrible.”  
  
“And it doesn’t bother you one bit.”  
  
Ezra looked longingly down at his half-eaten waffles but stood up, and kissed Luke’s cheek.  
  
“Nope. Let’s go.”  
  
\---  
  
They found Rey standing outside the Falcon, staring out at the ocean. The rain had long since let up, and the air was humid. Ezra shrugged his robe off and tossed it onto the grass before sitting down.  
  
“Are you coming back with me?” Rey asked without turning around.  
  
“We’re thinking about it.” Luke pulled the lightsaber from his belt and held it up.  
  
“Thinking about it won’t stop the First Order.”  
  
“Nor will my coming back.” Luke replied patiently. “Now tell me…how did you get my lightsaber?”  
  
Rey shrugged. “You know how.”  
  
“Tell me again.”  
  
“Maz Kanata.”  
  
“Hmm.” Luke looked thoughtful, “and she just let you take it?”  
  
“No, I --,” Rey turned around to face them. She would not look at the lightsaber. “I touched it and…” she trailed off. “…I saw things.”  
  
Ezra cocked his head to the side. “It called to you.”  
  
It wasn’t a question, and of course they knew the basics, based on what they’d heard from Leia already. They wanted to hear it from Rey.  
  
“That’s what Maz said.” Rey nodded. “I don’t understand why – she said, it was yours,” she pointed to Luke, “and your father’s before you – made it seem like -- ,” she stopped, her stance rigid, “but that’s crazy, it’s not…”  
  
Luke shared a silent look with Ezra.  
  
“I – but – you -- ” Rey stammered, “That’s not possible…” She shook her head fiercely. "It's not..."  
  
Luke's hand found Ezra's. They said nothing. It was important that Rey work this out herself.  
  
_"Search your feelings."_  
  
Vader's words echoed violently in Luke's mind. Decades later those words still left a bad taste in his mouth. He wasn't about to tell Rey the same thing.  
  
“I…” Rey’s voice faltered and tears formed in her eyes. “I need --” She cleared her throat. “I need time. I need to be alone. Please…”  
  
Luke glanced at Ezra and nodded.  
  
“Whenever you’re ready, you know where to find us.”


	3. Part 3

Part 3:  
  
Rey crouched down in one of the seats in the main hold on the Falcon, knees drawn to her chest and arms wrapped tightly around them. She tried to control the onslaught of emotions raging inside of her. She tried to think.  
  
If what her brain was telling her was true, then her family was here on this island, had been for years and that hurt.  
  
Rey had long ago accepted that her family would have come for her if they could, and if they couldn’t, something bad must have happened. Maz had confirmed it on Takodana…and now knowing Luke and Ezra were alive and well, and could have come for her at any given time –  
  
She remembered what Han had told her and Finn about Luke:  
  
_“He was training a new generation of Jedi. One boy, an apprentice turned against him. Destroyed it all. Luke felt responsible. He just walked away from everything.”_  
  
Logically, Rey understood, and knew that they couldn’t have come for her with the First Order obsessing over the map and finding them, but her heart still ached with the cold, hollow sense of betrayal. Even if they couldn't come to get her themselves, they could chosen to send someone else for her; someone without any connection to the family whatsoever.  
  
A hairy paw touched her shoulder. Chewbacca growled a soft inquiry as to what had happened.  
  
“Nothing,” Rey replied faintly, looking up at him. “I’m alright; I just need some space right now, okay?” He cocked his head to the side, studying her through narrowed eyes. She knew he had probably worked out she was lying, but he didn’t push and she was relieved when he turned and headed in the direction of the boarding ramp, barking something she couldn't understand, to which a series of curious beeps responded. Rey wasn't as familiar with R2-D2 as she was with BB-8 but he seemed like a decent astromech. Chewbacca barked a protective retort back at the droid, warning it against disturbing her.  
  
Right. She needed to focus.  
  
Rey remembered what Maz had told her of the Force, and how it had helped her defeat Kylo Ren on StarKiller. If it was supposed to help her, then now was as good a time as any to try again.  
  
She leaned back in her chair. She closed her eyes and relaxed her breathing.  
  
And she waited.  
  
\---  
  
_“Hera made contact.”_  
  
_“Did she find the kids?”_  
  
_Silence._  
  
_"Kanan?"_  
  
_“Ezra…”_  
  
_Kanan looked like he was going to cry. Sabine stepped forward, laying a hand gently on his arm. Ezra's heart sank, even as a rush of bitter, cold denial surged upward inside him._  
  
_“No. No, don’t start – don’t tell me – don’t --”_  
  
_“She found the ship on Jakku…w-what was left of it.”_  
  
_Luke’s arms tightened around his waist. “What?”_  
  
_“It was shot down,” Sabine’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m so sorry --”_  
  
_He couldn’t believe it. He wouldn’t…but how else could he explain the violent sensation that he’d felt at the Temple? The sensation of a pair of lives being brutally ripped apart?_  
  
_Ezra couldn’t breathe. His heart pounded erratically in his chest, the beat so loud it drowned everything else out. Luke sensed his distress, and he tried to help him back to his bed. He twisted out of Luke’s grip, a bad idea as it aggravated his wounds from the Temple. The room spun violently, making him dizzy. His knees buckled and he collapsed._  
  
_“Ezra!”_  
  
Ezra stared moodily down at his lightsaber. He felt Luke’s hand on his shoulder and sighed, turning to face the other man. They stood out on the cliff, staring out at the sea. Ezra watched the waves crash into the rocks down below, trying to stifle his warring emotions. Of course he was happy that Rey had realized who she truly was, and her reaction was understandable. However that didn't mean that he wasn't hurt by it.  
  
He didn't want to be.  
  
Luke cleared his throat, pulling Ezra out of his thoughts.  
  
“That could’ve gone better.” He said dejectedly.  
  
“It could have,” Luke agreed. “There’s nothing we can do now, Ezra. It’s to her.”  
  
“I know. I understand that, but...” Ezra trailed off, briefly resuming staring down at the waves.  
  
“What are you thinking?” Luke asked.  
  
“It’s stupid,” Ezra mumbled.  
  
“Darling, I can assure you that there is very little you could tell me that I’d consider stupid.” Luke gently turned Ezra to face him. “Talk to me, Ezra.”  
  
Ezra sighed and leaned forward, his forehead resting gently against Luke’s. “What if she leaves? I don’t want to lose her again.”  
  
“Neither do I,” Luke replied, “least of all now that she’s back, but if she leaves, she leaves.”  
  
"And we what, we stay here?" Ezra fixed him with a hard stare, pulling back. "That sit well with you?"  
  
"I didn't say that." Luke said patiently. "We can't force her to stay, Ez."  
  
"I didn't say we should." Ezra countered. He wiped his eyes. He didn’t want to cry, but he couldn’t help it. “Whatever she wants to do, I'll accept it. I just hate feeling like this.”  
  
“I know.” Luke wrapped his arms around him and Ezra sniffled, hiding his face in Luke's shoulder.. “I know.”  
  
\---  
  
Rey groaned and leaned back in her chair. She closed her eyes and tried to think. What was she supposed to do now? The Force wasn’t responding to her silent plea for guidance, and it was frustrating.  
  
“You’re all grown up.”  
  
She jumped in fright at the sound of the voice, and grabbed her quarter staff, looking wildly around the hold. There was no one other than her there. Rey tried to focus and get a grip on reality…which didn’t work. Truthfully, she felt like she was being ripped to pieces, everything she knew thrown to hell.  
  
“It’s okay, Rey, I won’t hurt you.”  
  
When Rey turned again, she saw a boy no older than fourteen standing before her. He was tall, with copper skin and dark hair that was tied back in a pony tail. He wore a dark green vest over a white long sleeved top, black pants, and boots. What surprised Rey was his transparency, particularly the blue tinted shimmer that seemed to surround his form.  
  
He smiled.  
  
“Missed you, kid.” Rey stared at him, dumbfounded. “Aw c’mon, don’t tell me you don’t remember your favorite person in the entire galaxy.”  
  
“What is this?” Rey stammered, finally finding her voice. “Do I know you?”  
  
“You did once.” He replied. “My name is Ephraim.”


	4. Part 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Sorry for the long wait, but I got attacked by the worst writer's block ever. Ugh.  
>   
> BUT  
>   
> The surge of TLJ trailers and tv spots (I AM LIVING I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS FILM OMG) has reignited my imagination with this fic and I am back, y'all! That being said, this will not follow the movie, obviously, given that this is being posted 2 weeks prior to the film's release...but I will be including little bits here and there, to fit the plot of this fic, so be warned for MINOR spoilers.. Enjoy!

Part 4:  
  
Rey stared at the spirit before her, dumbfounded. “Ephraim?” Another blast of memories assaulted her brain, nearly sending her toppling off of her chair and onto the floor.  
  
_“I don’t want to leave you, Rey, but Dad made me promise to keep you safe. You’ve got to stay here until I lead them off. I’ll radio Dad and -- ”_  
  
_She clung to his neck fiercely, her small body trembling as she cried. “No!”_  
  
_He gently removed her arms, leaning down to kiss her forehead. “I’m sorry, Sunshine, I have to do this.”_  
  
Ephraim smiled sadly at her. Rey frowned, then her eyes widened, realization sparking somewhere deep inside her.  
  
“ _Brother._ ” She said faintly. Realization quickly morphed into anger mixed with a myriad of other emotions: fear, grief, sadness. The sensation was so strong she felt she might be sick.  
  
“Calm down.” He cautioned, no doubt sensing her distress. “It’s alright, Rey. What happened wasn’t your fault.”  
  
“No.” she agreed fiercely. “No, it was _theirs_!”  
  
Ephraim shook his head. “I was fourteen. I wanted to help. I wanted to protect you.”  
  
“You were a kid!” she argued hotly, “and protecting me wasn’t your job! How am I supposed – they sent you to --” The world seemed to spin, disorienting her.  
  
“I won’t defend them,” he said simply, “The Galaxy knows they’re not perfect, and they shouldn’t have sent me out alone with you. What happened that day destroyed them – what was left of them after Ren attacked the Academy, anyway.” Rey said nothing. “Why did you call me here?”  
  
“I didn’t. I asked the Force for guidance.”  
  
“And it sent me.” Ephraim cocked his head to the side, deep in thought. “Interesting.”  
  
“More like some sick joke.” Rey snapped.  
  
“You and I both know that the Force doesn’t joke.” He folded his arms over his chest. “I’m no expert at advice, but I’ll try my best: give them a chance.” Rey looked like she wanted to argue. “I’m not saying you have to forgive them right away. You can do that when you’re ready. They’ll understand.” Rey scowled. “Okay fine, be stubborn about it. I can’t tell you what to do. Just do me a favor and think about it?” He asked. “Please?”  
  
She gave in. “Fine.”  
  
Ephraim smiled in approval. “Good.” He sat down on the floor. “So tell me, little sister, how did you manage to get off Jakku?”  
  
\---  
  
“Toss it higher.”  
  
Luke rolled his eyes and threw the next medium sized rock Ezra’s way. His husband’s lightsaber sliced through it easily, and it fell to the ground in pieces at his feet.  
  
R2 beeped something and he laughed. “You want to try it?”  
  
“As long as you don't pelt me with them like Chopper used to.” Luke grinned and instead of a rock this time, he handed an old ration bar carton to the astromech. R2 didn’t have two extendable arms, but the droid made up for it with the one arm that could extend out of its barrel. One idignant beep preceded the carton being hurled at Ezra harder than it meant to. It narrowly missed the top of Ezra’s head. “Artoo!”  
  
Luke burst out laughing. “You left yourself open to that.”  
  
R2 beeped something again and Ezra scowled. “Okay fine. I’m sorry, alright?” he looked at Luke. “You want to try…” his voice faltered and his eyes settled on something behind Luke. “Rey.”  
  
Luke turned around to look at their daughter. She looked pale, but he sensed a new awareness, a sense of determination that now flowed over her pain, muting it temporarily.  
  
“Can we talk?”  
  
He nodded and sat down across from her. “What about?”  
  
\---  
  
_“Why do you want to know about me?” Rey frowned. “You’re a ghost; Can’t you just go wherever you please?”_  
  
_Ephraim shook his head. “Doesn’t work like that, Sunshine. I’m not even sure how I’m here to be honest. Papa said becoming one with the Force in death was something only a few Jedi Masters achieved. I was only a padawan at the time. Last thing I remember before I died was --” his face darkened. “Well you don’t need to know what an explosion feels like.” He shuddered at the memory. “Anyway, what can I do for you?”_  
  
_“Well you said when I asked for guidance that the Force sent you,” She pointed out._  
  
_“I did.” He nodded. “So humor me. Tell me how you left Jakku.”_  
  
_So reluctantly, she did. She told him everything, up to leaving for Ach-To._  
  
_“I’d have loved to have seen that.” He told her when she mentioned defeating Kylo Ren on StarKiller. “Sleemo deserved it, considering everything he’s done.”_  
  
“I wanted to kill him.” She said softly. “After he hurt Finn and killed Han --”  
  
“You didn’t.” he said. “If you had you would’ve fallen into the Dark Side, and been no better than him.”  
  
“I don’t want to be like him!”  
  
“I didn’t say you did, Rey.” Ephraim sighed, “but he was right about one thing: you do need a teacher – to help you control your power.”  
  
_Rey scoffed. “And I suppose you want me to ask the parents of the century to do it?”_  
  
_“They_ are _the last known Jedi in the galaxy,” Ephraim pointed out, “Other than grandpa.” He amended. “You’ll meet him when you go back to D’Qar.” Rey didn’t look convinced. “Look just talk to them and think about it, alright? Can you do that for me?”_  
  
_After a moment of silence, she nodded reluctantly._  
  
_“Yes.”_  
  
Rey was quiet for a few moments. She had reluctantly accepted that Ezra and Luke were her family, but there was still so much that she didn’t understand. There were questions she had, and she had promised Ephraim she’d talk to them. “Our family,” She leaned forward, planting her hands palm down flat against the stones. “I’ve...or, well I’m trying to understand…but…”  
  
They waited for her to figure out what she needed to say.  
  
“How could you two just abandon me?” she finally asked.  
  
Luke stared at her sadly. “We didn’t.”  
  
“The fact that I spent fourteen years on Jakku waiting for you to come back, hoping it was an – an accident says otherwise.”  
  
“Had we known you were alive, we would have come in an instant.” Ezra had walked up behind Luke. “We trusted someone to take you into hiding, to keep you safe when Kylo Ren started his massacre.”  
  
“My brother.”  
  
Luke and Ezra exchanged a glance.  
  
“His ghost appeared on the Falcon. We talked.” She explained.  
  
“Yes. Ephraim,” Ezra answered finally.  
  
“Your grandmother went to Jakku to find the two of you when Ephraim didn’t check in to let us know the two of you were safe.” Luke told her. “She found the wreckage of the ship – or what was left of it. There was no sign of you or your brother.”  
  
“At the time we thought we’d sensed both of you passing.” Ezra looked like he was going to be sick. “It’s the worst feeling you can imagine, Rey.”  
  
_The First Order TIEs pursuing Ephraim as the ship lifted up off the ground and shot toward the sky. Rey felt his fear. It mingled with her own, making her sick to her stomach. The TIE fired at her brother, hitting the ship with two direct blasts. It exploded before her eyes._  
  
_At the same time, a violent sensation pulsed through the five-year-old’s core, making her knees buckle, and she pulled her arm from the alien gripping it, scrambling a few feet away only to vomit in the sand._  
_Rey was not foreign to the concept of death, even at such a young age. Growing up in the Resistance, she had seen it happen far too often_  
  
_She watched in horror as the wreckage plummeted back down to the sand below._  
  
“No!”  
  
“I know.” She whispered. “I…I’ve dreamed of the day I was left on Jakku since the moment I touched your lightsaber.” She said slowly, “and again after I came here,” she frowned. “I had another. The ship…it was the first time I’d seen it explode. He was shot down trying to leave. I saw it…and I felt it. I felt him die.” Her stomach churned at the memory. “Do you know who killed him?” she asked. “Was it – _him_?” The mere thought of Kylo Ren left a bitter taste in her mouth as she remembered the way he had killed Han. Killed his father. She couldn’t bring herself to say his name.  
  
“It wasn’t.” Ezra responded. “He was too busy murdering the new Jedi Order with the Knights of Ren. We went to confront him.”  
  
“He has Knights?” Rey was both appalled and revolted by the very idea.  
  
“It’s nothing special, just a name Snoke used for his little order once he turned Ben to the Dark Side, to make him feel important.” Luke shrugged and scooted closer to Ezra, who reached for his ungloved, mechanical hand, wrapping his fingers lightly around it.  
  
They’d moved down to sit on a stone platform that had been set on a smaller cliff. It was ancient, had once been a training ground for the few Jedi that had inhabited the island centuries earlier.  
  
Luke watched as Rey stared out at the ocean. The pebbles on the ground rose and floated around her hand, which remained motionless on the ground. Luke wondered if she was even aware she was doing it, but he was proven wrong when she looked down at the rocks and they crashed back down onto the ground.  
  
“Why did you do it?” her voice trembled, but she remained motionless. “Why did you trust a fourteen year old to do _what the two of you should have in the first place?!_ ” The two men flinched but otherwise gave no reaction to her raised voice. “Why didn’t one of you come with us to make sure nothing went wrong?!” A sob escaped her throat. “ _Why?!_ ”  
  
Luke and Ezra glanced at each other. Rey turned her head to look at them, the pain in her expression evident. She waited for them to speak.  
  
“I’m not going to pretend we knew what we were doing, because I know we didn’t.” Luke said hoarsely. “We thought we were protecting the two of you.”  
  
“By sending us off by ourselves?” Rey asked incredulously. “Luke, either of you could have gone to confront him on your own! Why did we have to suffer?!”  
  
“We never meant for you to suffer.” Ezra’s voice cracked, “or for your brother to die, and I know nothing we say is going to change it.” He sniffled. “You have every right to be angry with us, Rey.”  
  
“We’re not asking for forgiveness.” Luke added. “We just want you to know the truth. If you want to leave, and have nothing to do with us, we understand.”  
  
Rey shook her head. “I can’t leave, General Organa asked me to bring you back.”  
  
“And Leia will understand why I will not be with you upon your arrival back at the base.” Luke’s face darkened. Ezra said nothing; honestly he had expected this. “The Resistance does not need a failure to fight its battles for them.”  
  
“You didn’t fail.” She said quietly.  
  
“Didn’t I?” he scoffed. “I failed to keep Ben from Snoke, failed my family, and the galaxy.”  
  
Her brow furrowed. If she were to admit it, Luke was right; somehow he had failed, and this was not the man she’d grown up hearing myths about on Jakku…but someone needed to stop Kylo and the First Order.  
  
She’d beaten Kylo once…but it had been sheer luck. The monster had been right: She needed a teacher, and the only viable candidates for the job were on the island with her.  
  
“Train me.” She suggested.  
  
Luke looked up at her in surprise. “What?”  
  
“Train me.” Rey repeated. “I need someone to show me my place in all of this...and someone needs to stop them. The First Order.” She looked down at her pack, which she had set beside her earlier, and pulled the lightsaber out of it. “I understand your fear. I know what he did, what he's done…but if I don’t stop him, everyone will suffer even more.” She took a deep breath. “Kylo failed you. I won’t.”  
  
Luke closed his eyes. She reminded him so much of himself at her age.  
  
_"I won't fail you. I'm not afraid."_  
  
_"You will be. You_ will _be."_  
  
And oh how right Master Yoda had turned out to be. Were the Jedi Master still alive, Luke would probably be getting one hell of an 'I told you so' from the little green alien. Because Luke _was_ afraid of so many things...but most of all Rey.  
  
Not of Rey... _for_ Rey. Knowing what he did about her powers brought back all the memories of training Ben, witnessing his fall to the Dark Side. He would not let her share her cousin's fate. And he could not train her, knowing how powerless he had been to stop Ben from murdering the new Jedi Order.  
  
"Luke?" Ezra's hand was on his shoulder, pulling him from his thoughts.  
  
Luke's mind ached. He wished he had more time to think it over. If he could he would spend the next eternity thinking it over, hoping she would never ask him to train her again.  
  
Luke took a deep breath and covered Ezra's hand with his own. Ezra bit his lip and looked at the ground, his heart aching as he realized what the other man was about to say.  
  
"No."


End file.
